Disclaimer: My house belongs to the bank, my work belongs to my boss, Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and this disclaimer belongs to DerLaCroix.
Tempest of the Fae
Chapter Thirty Four: My Animagus Form Is A What?!
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Dumbledore smiled as he put away the contract that Severus had signed that morning to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Hopefully by the end of next year things would have progressed to a point where Dumbledore would be able to shift him back to his position as Potions Professor. Slughorn would not be difficult to get for a single year, not with the promise of adding Harry Potter to his little club.
But before any of that he had a meeting to attend with Madam Bones. She had gotten her robes in a twist about him and Fudge trying to arrest Black for the murder of Harry Potter. Yes Dumbledore was glad that Harry was alive, well beyond glad really. Had Harry died his plans would have been ruined and he would have had to try and make new ones work with the Longbottom boy.
It was the point of the matter though that was causing the problems. Dumbledore was acting in the best interests of the world, which he couldn't fully explain, but that was to be expected with such a grand plan but Madam Bones refused to listen.
He removed one of the potions meant to help keep his mind sharp from his desk. He would need his wits about him dealing with her. He downed the potion and smiled as a warm feeling passed over his mind, he giggled at the feeling of his mind sharpening, the dull flakes of rust and age falling away.
Quickly he shook it off and returned to his grandfatherly persona, no need to go and give away any of his secrets by walking around with a wide smile on his face. Why, people might think he had just come from the broom cupboard!
When Dumbledore arrived at the ministry he was disappointed to be told to sit down and wait. Madam Bone's secretary had been given specific instruction not to let him talk his way out of the meeting so his complaints that he didn't have time to wait around fell on deaf ears.
When her door finally opened it was to let out a thoroughly scolded Minister of Magic. Fudge didn't think it was right; it wasn't his fault but Dumbledore's. But Madam Bones hadn't listened, she pointed out that he was the one to pull her people from their jobs; that he ignored several laws and the public was going after him.
As Fudge left her office he saw Dumbledore and glared at the old man. Dumbledore was taken back by the Minister's anger and made a mental note to have him around for tea, with a few potions to calm him down. While the Minister's ring was meant to detect such potions Fudge never wore it as it appeared gaudy.
It still took several more minutes before he was called in to see Madam Bones. Not that Dumbledore would let such a childish power play weigh on his mind. He had more trouble with her yelling. She kept going on and on about laws and some such, as if he could save them all working with such pesky things. Didn't she understand they only mattered when he used them against other people? They weren't meant to bind him.
Dumbledore was so disconnected from what she was saying, and the whole thing in general he almost missed it when she suddenly cut off mid word. That focused his mind to see a silver doe standing in the room with them. He immediately knew it was from Severus and important.
"Help… James Potter…. Has returned…" The silver creature said in Severus's pained and strangled voice.
"I am sorry but I must go help Severus." Dumbledore jumped from his chair and raced to the door, only to find that Madam Bones had done the same and was following him.
She called two more aurors as they hurried along. At Dumbledore's shocked expression she just said. "That was an official call for help; this is how things are done. Not rushing off on your own."
Dumbledore was torn; on the one hand this could be very bad, having such people along when he went to help Severus, who knew what the man had been doing. On the other hand it could also go a long way in helping his cause and win them over to his side. In the end he decided to take a risk. "We must return to my office, Severus left a method to locate him in such an event."
When they reached the floo Dumbledore stepped through to his office and opened the connection for the others. He pulled out the device that tracked Severus; though it was crude as his spy was rightly paranoid it showed his location every fifteen minutes. Over the last dozen recordings were all from his home in Spinner's End.
Dumbledore grabbed a quill from his desk and turned it into a portkey. "Grab on."
They arrived amid what they could only call a disaster. The magical fire from Snape's house had begun to spread and the emergency responders were having difficultly containing it. Madam Bones immediately sent the call out for more help to try and deal with it before it got any further out of hand.
It didn't matter to Dumbledore though. Severus was dead. A check of the tracking device confirmed it. He hadn't noticed in his office but the last location had been sent over half an hour before. The Headmaster sat heavily on the curb and stared at the tracking device. How could this have happened? Yes Severus was still a bit rough around the edges but Dumbledore knew he was a good person, why had no one else been able to see that? Now, now it was too late. His friend who had given up so much for the light was gone, murdered by…. James Potter?
Suddenly a dozen half formed ideas and snippets of information fell into place. Someone who had been in the Order during the first war, who had felt that they were set up to die by Dumbledore, was believed to be dead. How had he not seen it? James Potter was Ash!
But how had he pulled it off? He had seen James Potter's body, or had he? He had rushed things back then to assure himself control of Harry. Had the body been a fake? Had James and Lily somehow escaped? No if they had they surely would have come for Harry. But…
But Harry wasn't as Dumbledore expected him to be, could it be that James had survived and helped Harry through his childhood, working all this time to see Dumbledore's plans broken upon the ground? That had to be it. Harry knew about his father, he had to, and so must Sirius by now.
James Potter had obviously learned that Severus was the one who had told Voldemort of the prophecy and come seeking revenge, a clearly dark move. That would also mean that he was the one who caught Peter and helped set Sirius free. Who knew what else he had been up to?
Dumbledore stood and made his way over to Madam Bones who was busy containing the growing fire and modifying memories as more wizards arrived from the Ministry to help. "Amelia, we must act quickly."
"What does it look like I'm doing Dumbledore?" She asked, barely sparing him a glance.
"No I mean to find James Potter." Dumbledore said.
"What?" Madam Bones asked.
Dumbledore began to explain his theory. Madam Bones didn't want to adamant it but it almost sounded reasonable. Still there were a few things that held her back from believing it. "Dumbledore you were one of those who confirmed their bodies. Are you saying that you were wrong?"
"It was a strange time for everyone, I may have missed something, and it is possible that I was tricked." Dumbledore admitted.
"Listen closely, I'm not about to put out a warrant for a dead man, a hero of the war, on the word of a Death Eater who was recorded as hating him. And what would I even arrest him for if he was alive?" Madam Bones asked.
"The murder of Severus Snape comes to mind." Dumbledore said with a wave towards the crumbled remains of Snape's house.
"We don't even know if Snape is dead." She pointed out.
"The tracker has stopped working, that would only happen if…"
"If someone severed its connection, yes death would stop it, but so would just removing the charm, and you have already admitted he knew about it so it is possible that he set this up. Frankly I find that more believable than James Potter somehow survived and has been in hiding for all these years." Madam Bones said.
"Pettigrew…"
"Just because it happened once doesn't mean it will happen again. Listen unless you can bring me some type of proof, better than a Death Eater who was known to hate James Potter saying he was being attacked be a dead man, the best I can do is leave the case open for now." She said.
"I trusted Severus with my life, while not everyone found him to be a pleasant person he sacrificed a great deal for the light and I will find the proof you need." Dumbledore turned and apparated away.
Had he thought about it he might find his own reaction somewhat more emotional than he expected. Yes he considered Severus a friend but not a very close one. The young Potion Master was more valuable as a spy than anything else. But he wasn't, Snape had come to represent his failed plans and James Potter was the problem. Remove James Potter and everything else would fall into place just has he had planned.
He just needed to remove Potter…
0-0
Harry, Hermione and Luna had spent the day quietly together. Removing Snape had been emotionally hard for them, despite knowing that they needed to. It was a strange feeling, not as bad as their first kills in the original time line, but far worse than their last ones.
They were still subdued when they returned to number 12 that evening. Sirius understood enough to give them their space and not ask questions aside from assurance that they were all unharmed. Xeno arrived to join them for dinner; plans had been made for them to spend the next day with the Grangers. Other plans had been changed so that during Harry's isolation at the Weasleys Luna and her father would take their expedition and the Grangers would have their family vacation. Neither of the girls was happy that they wouldn't be around if he needed their help but he pointed out if the Weasleys tried anything he, Sirius and Cortus could handle things.
Of course Dobby, Hedwig and Crookshanks all added their thoughts on the matter, which mostly involved ripping people to shreds. Dobby was happy though as he would be looking after the Granger's home and the Rookery while people were away.
They were in the middle of one of his wonderful meals when Dumbledore's head appeared in the floo and asked to come over. The first thing they noticed was that he seemed tired and much, much older than normal. He sat heavily in one of the chairs. "I am afraid I have some most disturbing news. Severus was murdered today."
"What happened?" Sirius asked after several moments of awkward silence.
"Someone arranged for a massive explosion at his home. Forgive me but none of you seem very upset about the man's death." Dumbledore said.
Sirius shrugged. "I hated the guy."
When Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry he mimicked Sirius and shrugged. "I had no attachment to him; I think he was a vile man. His death is no different to me than some random person's death I read about in the paper. Actually I'm just glad I'll never have to deal with him again."
"Before he died Severus managed to send a request for help." Dumbledore said, fishing for information, or at least trying to. The death of Severus and his subsequent embodiment of all of Dumbledore's failed plans had unhinged the old man a bit.
Harry rolled his eyes, they were sure they had left nothing behind that could be tied back to them. "Let me guess, he blamed me?"
"No actually, he claimed it was your father." Dumbledore said solemnly.
"James?" Sirius said.
"My father?" Harry asked, he had only taken the aging potion to mess with Snape a bit more. The thought that something like this would happen hadn't crossed his mind.
"Yes, Snape said that James Potter was attacking him before he died. As you can understand after what happened with Peter Pettigrew the Ministry is taking such a claim very seriously." Or they will once I have my proof. "Do any of you know anything about this?"
"James is dead." Sirius said quietly. "I saw his body."
"Then you will have no objections to exhuming his body to prove his death…"
"Hell No!" Sirius and Harry had both jumped to their feet and glared angrily at the Headmaster. "My father won't have his grave desecrated because of another one of your crazy ideas."
"If you want to dig James up you'll have to get the Wizengamot to order it." Both were well aware that they wouldn't do that to one of the old pureblood houses without a very good reason. A reason Dumbledore didn't have.
To Dumbledore this was just confirmation that he was correct, James Potter was alive and they knew. He stood and walked back to the floo. "If that is your answer then I may have to do just that. Harry, when you see your father please inform him that his unfounded hatred for Severus has lead him down a very dark path. And think if you truly wish to follow in his darkened footsteps."
The occupants of the house were left shocked as he stepped into the floo and vanished back to his office. Luna was the first to recover. "And people called me loony; I think we actually broke his mind."
Hermione nodded as her mind recovered from the shock. "I think you're right. At this rate he probably won't last the summer before he has a breakdown."
0-0
Later that night Sirius returned from the Ministry, he had gone straight over after Dumbledore's visit to see just how seriously the whole James Potter has returned from the dead thing was being taken. Apparently it wasn't. "Madam Bones told Dumbledore no, that's why he came here. He is trying to find proof that it was James who killed Snape. But even Fudge isn't buying it this time. Though apparently he is still licking his wounds from the chewing out he got from Madam Bones."
"Good, we'll send word to Rita tomorrow, I'm sure she'll like another story about his slipping mentality." Hermione said.
"Hopefully we can stop him before he tries to drag my family name through the mud." Harry said.
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As it turned out they couldn't. The next day the front page was dominated by a story from Rita's sister about how James Potter was believed to be alive and out on a murderous killing spree. As Hermione put it the article read like a poorly written b-list movie. It tried to convince the reader that James Potter was alive but had abandoned his son. Returned to free Sirius Black to start building a powerbase and was soon to become a new Dark Lord with an enslaved phoenix. And that his murder of Severus Snape was both revenge for Snape out preforming him in school as well as a way to hamper the light.
"Sirius please tell me we can do something about this?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure but I'll head down to the Prophet's office and see what the hell they were thinking." Sirius said.
Xeno had his own copy of the paper and had continued reading. He had to admit breakfast with them was wonderful, and Dobby had even managed some of his more exotic tastes after being given a proper recipe. He chuckled at one of the stories hidden deeper in the paper. "The Ministry's official story is that he died in a potions accident and the muggles believe it was some type of drug lab that exploded. Apparently it was easy to believe because while he owned the house he had no records of ever working and the family was considered poor, so illegal funds from drugs is an easy explanation. I wonder if Dumbledore saw this article?"
"I doubt it." Sirius said and he hastily finished his food.
Xeno kissed his daughter before she Harry and Hermione left for the Granger's. When they arrived Hermione's parents immediately noticed their down moods. "What's wrong?"
"You remember that horrid instructor we had, Snape?" Hermione asked, at their nods she continued. "Yesterday he died in some type of potions accident."
"It's not a bad thing." Harry said. "He did awful things in the past and future. But Dumbledore somehow got it into his head that my dead father was behind it."
Dan held up his hands to stop Harry. "I'm sorry did you say Dumbledore thinks that your dead father somehow came back to life to kill Snape?"
"Yes, that's what Harry said." Luna nodded. "Dumbledore also had an article published this morning saying as much."
They once again had to assure Hermione's parents that they weren't in any danger from the old man, that he was just annoying. It took a good deal of the morning.
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Sirius left the Daily Prophet with mixed feelings. The editor had agreed that the article was out of line but Dumbledore had used some pull in the Ministry to have it published and there wasn't much that could be done about it.
He tried to not let it sour him for another very important meeting that afternoon. When he walked into the Leaky Cauldron he went straight back to the private booth he had reserved and greeted his oldest living friend. "Remus."
"Sirius." Remus returned his hug before they took their seats. "I was surprised to get your letter, I hadn't heard about you being innocent at that time. It's been a few years since I was in the magical world."
"Don't worry about it, I did some digging and found those new regulations that got pushed through for werewolves." Sirius said.
"Yes, they either drive you to crime or the muggle world, sometimes both. Thankfully no one cares if you fake a few documents to get by." Remus said. He hadn't liked it but adding himself into some respected schools and faking an education was the only thing that allowed him to keep a decent job.
"Well if you're looking for work I have some stuff I need done that I can't just trust to anyone." He held up a hand to cut off Remus, he knew his friend and his oldest argument. "You do the work you get paid. Just because we are friends doesn't mean I'll take charity from you."
Remus was left speechless as his argument had its legs cut off. Then he leaned back in his chair. "I don't believe it; I think the dementors actually made you smarter…"
"You wound me." Sirius said.
"If only." Remus shook his head. "So what is this so called job, and I swear I will hit you if you say helping you to pick up woman."
"Not a bad idea but no. It's really more of a bunch of odd jobs, bit of this, bit of that. But they all require a quiet mouth and delicate hands." Sirius said. "And they will all help Harry."
"Then of course I will." Remus said.
"Good. But I'll need you to sign this." Sirius slid a contract to Remus. While he was sure they could trust him the kids had been less sure due to the almost blind loyalty he had demonstrated towards Dumbledore at some point in the future. When the suggestion of a contact to help protect their secrets was made both Sirius and Xeno had insisted on signing them as well.
"I understand." Remus said with a sad sigh.
"I don't think that you do. If James returned from the dead I wouldn't let him near Harry without signing this or an oath." Sirius said.
"Does this have anything to do with today's paper?" Remus asked.
"No, I actually came up with that line last week before this latest round of Dumbledore's idiocy." Sirius was surprised by the annoyed look that crossed Remus face at his bad mouthing of Dumbledore. Maybe the contracts had been a good idea. "Look both Xeno and I signed the same contract; it has nothing to do with your furry little problem."
"Alright." Remus signed the contract and passed it back to Sirius.
"Excellent. Now have I got a story to tell you, but it's best done back at my place." Sirius said.
0-0
Dumbledore made one of the visits that he was least looking forward to. He stepped out of the floo into Malfoy Manor. Lord Malfoy looked him over cautiously. "Headmaster, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I am sure you have heard about the unfortunate death of Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I have, he was a good friend of the family." Malfoy replied. "And you claim that James Potter somehow returned from the dead to murder him."
"I did not make the claim but Severus. He sent a message that James Potter had attacked him; I was with Madam Bones at the time as I am sure your own sources can confirm. By the time we reached his home though it was too late. Madam Bones has declined to investigate the matter further. However I felt it was best to give you and your family warning. James Potter is back and he has turned dark. I doubt he would hesitate to kill off your entire line. Be wary." Dumbledore said.
Malfoy looked the man over, now more than ever he believed that Dumbledore had gone crazy. "I will keep that in mind, thank you."
Dumbledore nodded and left. He had had the idea to warn certain families that might be in danger as a show of good faith, then when Voldemort was defeated they might remember the kindness and turn back towards the light.
Now he had the unpleasant task of finding another Defense Professor, maybe Lockhart was still available? He had been Dumbledore's choice before the post had gone to Severus.
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Ginny was skipping around the Burrow as she had been since it was confirmed that Harry would be staying with them for August. He'd be at her birthday! It was a dream come true. And in September she would join second year and have classes with him!
Ron was also having a good summer, especially with a house elf! He'd made up a fake contest to cover where it had come from. His mother loved ordering it around too; apparently while she loved cooking and cleaning she loved telling the elf to do it just as much. However Ron could never remember its name and ended up calling several different things throughout the day. Not that he cared. And at night, should he feel hungry around 3 in the morning and want a turkey, the elf had to get him one! It was great!
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That night Harry officially meet Remus; he was a bit of a mixed bag as far as they were concerned. He could be very useful and was the last true friend Sirius had. But his loyalty towards Dumbledore left them a bit sour towards him. In the end though they had agreed to ease him into the knowledge that they were from the future. The contract would make sure he didn't tell anyone.
They started by bringing him to Potter Manor the following day, but they decided to keep Slytherin secret for another time. Two days after that Remus was well into his first job of helping to sort out the numerous magical objects at 12, Dobby might be able to understand some information about them but Remus had a great deal more knowledge about their uses.
That night when Harry, Hermione and Luna were having dinner at number 12 with Sirius and Remus, Harry brought up a subject that he had wanted to for some time. "Sirius, can you teach us to become animagi?"
Remus choked on his drink. "Aren't you all a bit young for that?"
"They're more mature than they look." Sirius said.
"Plus after everything that happened this year it would be useful to have another trick." Harry said and they explained several of the incidents. Though nothing that gave away their time traveling.
Remus understood their desire then and summed up his thoughts in a question to Sirius. "How did they manage to get into more trouble in first year than we did in seven?"
"Well not counting those panty raids. And they are skilled." Sirius said. He turned back to them. "Alright, there are different methods to become an animagus. The first and hardest way involves years of difficult magics and mental preparations. The normal way still takes years, but uses potions to cut out some of the hardest parts. Officially those are the only two legal methods. However there is another method, it's the one we used.
"If we hadn't it would have taken us a lot longer. I found it in my family library, I should mention that it is technically illegal so don't go telling people about it. A potion the will complete the process for you. The Ministry banned it because they don't like having a bunch of animagi running around." Sirius explained.
"So this is the method my dad used." Harry said more to himself than anyone else.
"That's right; we spent two years trying the other method without much success. This potion took care of it. And it's not that hard to make. Remus you can brew it right?" Sirius asked.
"I believe so but I'd need to check the recipe again." Remus said, living on his own for so long meant that he had developed a fair hand at many things, cooking and brewing among them. Though his skills weren't up to the level where he was comfortable brewing his Wolfsbane potion. Not that he could afford the ingredients anyways.
It didn't take Sirius long to locate the book with the potion and Remus assured them he could get the ingredients and brew it within the week. Later the night Sirius found Harry reading in the library. "So pup any ideas on what animal you'll be?"
"No, we never managed it in the future. We found some fragmented information but never enough to actually do it. We never even heard of this potion, so no idea." Harry admitted. His excitement was already bubbling over and only grew as the potion was brewed. That it had been in the Black library in this point of time meant that it had been removed later before they took up residence in number 12. Harry would bet that Dumbledore had taken the book, his journals did mention that he liked to raid old family libraries.
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"Hogwarts welcomes you Professor Lockhart." Dumbledore said as his newest professor signed his contract.
"Happy to be here." Lockhart said. This would be another nice feather in his cap and a real boost to his book sales. Every student with his complete works, gold coins danced before his eyes, and who knew he might even find something worth writing another book about.
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Two young Slytherin girls sat in a well-kept parlor and sipped tea. "So your uncle is going to be our new defense professor? The one who taught you those memory charms?"
"Yes, if we can make it worth his time he might even help us deal with those two bitches. Granger and Lovegood won't know what hit them." The other said.
"I don't know, haven't you noticed everyone who causes them problems tends to end up in some kind of accident? Even Professor Snape died making a potions mistake, as if I'd believe that." The first said.
"So? As long as it isn't traced back to us we're safe. We didn't get caught for what happened on Halloween did we?" She asked.
"I suppose."
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Three vials sat on the table, one each for Harry, Hermione and Luna. Harry's hands were itching for his own; he couldn't wait to see what his animal was. Some type of predator, like a wolf or tiger, or maybe a hawk or a falcon. Though over the last week the idea of becoming a stag like his father had become his favorite possibility. "So how goes first?"
"Youngest?" Luna suggested.
Harry grunted in exasperation, he knew she only suggested that to delay him. "Fine."
As Luna took the first vial Sirius and Remus sat ready with a large tome they had retrieved from the Black library that was charmed to easily identify different animals. They'd use it if one of their forms wasn't easily recognizable. Luna tipped back the vial and barely had time to utter 'oh' before she began to change.
The best way Harry could describe her form was a small cross between a fox and a cat, with very large ears. It's fur the color of Luna's hair. Luna stretched out her new form before she jumped into Harry's lap. He reached down and scratched behind her ear, half expecting her to start purring. Hermione frowned as she studied Luna. "I have no idea what she is, what does the book say?"
Remus waited a moment before he answered. "A Fennec fox. Native to North Africa and the Sahara."
"Well she's still adorable." Harry said and was reward with a quick lick of his fingers before Luna rolled over to expose her belly.
"And still demanding." Hermione said as she reached over and petted the small fox's soft fur. "Alright change back. It's my turn."
"Hey!" Harry tried to protest but Hermione had already downed her vial with a smirk.
Luna changed back just as Hermione took on her animal form. Harry wasn't sure how to describe Hermione's form. It was definitely some type of bird. With long legs and a very sharp beak. Several feathers stood out on her head and reminded Harry of how wild her hair was before she began using the potion on it. "Remus?"
"A Secretary bird, mostly terrestrial, bird of prey related to the buzzard and vulture, natives to Africa…"
Luna squealed and began to stroke Hermione's head, even as a bird she stood almost as tall as Luna. "We're African sister!"
Remus coughed. "Er, yes it appears so. Very intelligent, can fly but prefers to walk, noted for hunting snakes."
Hermione changed back but had to swat Luna's hand away when she continued to pet her head. "Well I'm not thrilled to be a bird but at least I won't need to fly all the time."
"If you don't mind can I finally find out my form?" Harry practically begged.
"I suppose so." Sirius said.
Harry downed his vial and waited, the sensation was like being sucked into himself. The world blurred around him, when it stopped he looked at the others. Only to realize they were all much larger than they had been a moment before. He looked down at himself hoping to see feathers and wings. Instead he saw fur and paws.
Hermione and Luna coo'd over how adorable he was. Sirius conjured a mirror and set it down for Harry. He took one look at himself in it and began to run around the room in frustration. He was a black kitten! He was supposed to be a large predator, a bird! Not a common kitten!
Harry stopped when he almost ran into Crookshanks who had just walked in. He took one look at Harry and frowned, well as much as a cat with a squished face could. "Minion bird nest? What happened? Oh no, is this because I lick your head while you're asleep?! Not good not good."
Crookshanks butted his head against Harry and tried to push him from the room. "Hurry, Minion Fuzzy can't see you or she won't give me rubs or treats!"
"I've already seen you." Hermione said, her arms crossed as she looked down at her cat.
Harry changed back. "What do you mean you lick my head while I am asleep?"
Crookshanks curled up around himself. "I like to make your head fur look silly so I play with it while you sleep."
Luna burst out laughing; she scoped him up and told him how good he was. Much to Hermione's and Harry's annoyance.
Harry sat down with a heavy sigh. "I was really hoping to be a stag like my father."
Sirius clapped him on the back. "Don't feel bad, a parent's form is no guarantee of a child's. Actually in the rare cases that they are recorded they almost always differ. Though if you find two people with the same form chances are that they are related."
"Still a kitten?" Harry shook his head.
Crookshanks jumped onto his lap and flexed his claws. "And what is wrong with being a feline?"
0-0
Once things had calmed down again, and Luna had convinced Harry to explore the house in their animagus forms Sirius walked over to Hermione. "By the way I got everything on your list, but what are you going to do with all that dragons' blood? I mean that's more than most dragons even have."
"Just a side project." Hermione said. She would be glad to finally get back to it. But she'd need to get Harry and Luna to help her with the rune work.
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(A/N: As always thank you for reading and thanks to this chapter's Beta Katzztar, drscot and kage66.)